Written Answers Thursday 25 March 2010

Scottish Executive

Agriculture

Tavish Scott (Shetland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it or its agencies (a) operates or (b) can operate farm holding compensation schemes for degradation of land caused by geese and, if so, what areas are covered by such schemes.

Richard Lochhead: No, schemes are currently operated for the purpose of providing compensation to occupiers of farm holdings in respect of the degradation of land by geese. Furthermore, no such schemes could be implemented as there are not currently measures provided in the SRDP that cover the degradation of land.

Animal Welfare

Tavish Scott (Shetland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it plans to change the 13-day standstill period on farm holdings implemented under animal health regulations, given that the equivalent period in England and Wales has been reduced to six days.

Richard Lochhead: There are no plans to change the 13 day standstill period at this time. The original standstill period of 20 days was introduced in the wake of the foot and mouth epidemic of 2001. The standstill period was relaxed to 13 days in 2003 in response to representations from the Scottish livestock industry.

  The veterinary advice is that to reduce the standstill period to six days, with all the exemptions, would leave Scotland vulnerable to the effects of a rapidly spreading animal disease.

  The animal movement regime in Scotland allows more exemptions from the standard rule for low risk movements than in England.

  The current system in Scotland also allows farmers to maintain incoming or outgoing stock in a separation area in order to avoid whole farm standstills. Future improvements in animal tracing technology may allow changes to the current movement regime which would still maintain protection against the spread of infectious diseases.

Animal Welfare

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-24922 by Richard Lochhead on 9 July 2009, whether the code of practice on the welfare of dogs has been issued and, if so, what the uptake has been.

Richard Lochhead: The Code of Practice for the Welfare of Dogs has just been published and printed copies have only been available since 18 March 2010, so it is too early to assess the degree of uptake. However, substantial numbers of copies have been requested by and distributed to major animal welfare organisations, including the Scottish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. Copies have also been distributed to veterinary practices, local authorities and police forces in Scotland, to raise awareness.

Animal Welfare

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-24239 by Richard Lochhead on 5 June 2009 and in light of the UK Government’s consultation on the welfare of racing greyhounds, whether the Scottish Government will reconsider its decision on issuing regulations on the welfare of greyhounds and consult on this issue, given public concern as to the wellbeing of these dogs after their racing days are over.

Richard Lochhead: The Scottish Government is aware of the UK Government’s consultation on the welfare of racing greyhounds but has no plans to introduce regulations which specifically deal with racing greyhounds in Scotland since no evidence has been presented indicating that there is a problem. The provisions of the Animal Health and Welfare (Scotland) Act 2006 are sufficient to ensure the welfare of these dogs and, in particular, section 24 makes it an offence for any person responsible for an animal to cause that animal unnecessary suffering by action or omission.

Antisocial Behaviour

Sarah Boyack (Edinburgh Central) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive when it will produce its annual progress report on tackling antisocial behaviour as promised in the framework set out by Promoting Positive Outcomes: Working Together to Prevent Antisocial Behaviour in Scotland , published in March 2009.

Fergus Ewing: The  Promoting Positive Outcomes Implementation Plan was published at the end of October 2009 and the first annual report on implementation will be presented in the autumn.

Climate Change

Sarah Boyack (Edinburgh Central) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what details it can provide of meetings between ministers and officials regarding its joint statement on climate change with the Government of the Maldives.

Stewart Stevenson: Officials from the Scottish European Green Energy Centre in Aberdeen, the Business, Enterprise and Energy Directorate, the Energy Technology Partnership, the Climate Change and Water Industry Directorate and the Culture, External Affairs and Tourism Directorate are supporting Scottish ministers on the Partnership with the Maldives.

Climate Change

Sarah Boyack (Edinburgh Central) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what details it can provide of meetings between ministers and officials and representatives of the Government of the Maldives.

Stewart Stevenson: The First Minister met the Maldives President’s Envoy for Science and Technology in Edinburgh on 11 December 2009 and then met President Nasheed of the Maldives in Copenhagen on 15 December 2009 during the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) climate conference where they signed a Joint Statement and then addressed The Climate Group’s Climate Leaders Summit of over 60 state and regional government Ministers. Officials from The Scottish European Green Energy Centre in Aberdeen, Business, Enterprise and Energy Directorate, the Energy Technology Partnership and Culture and External Affairs Directorate have all had direct contact and discussions with representatives of the Maldives Government.

Climate Change

Sarah Boyack (Edinburgh Central) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive when it first considered a partnership with the Government of the Maldives to tackle climate change.

Stewart Stevenson: I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-30105 on 15 January 2010. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/Apps2/Business/PQA/Default.aspx.

Climate Change

Sarah Boyack (Edinburgh Central) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-30107 by Stewart Stevenson on 15 January 2010, what support has been given to its climate change programme with the Government of the Maldives by the (a) Business, Enterprise and Energy, (b) Climate Change and Water Industry and (c) Culture, External Affairs and Tourism Directorate.

Stewart Stevenson: Officials from The Scottish European Green Energy Centre in Aberdeen, Business, Enterprise and Energy Directorate, the Energy Technology Partnership and Culture and External Affairs Directorate have all had direct contact and discussions with representatives of the Maldives Government. Officials from the Climate Change and Water Industry Directorate are providing co-ordination and briefing.

Climate Change

Sarah Boyack (Edinburgh Central) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-30106 by Stewart Stevenson on 15 January 2010, what progress it has made in recognising the potential of the low-carbon economy of the future, as stated in its joint statement on climate change with the Government of the Maldives

Stewart Stevenson: Scottish ministers are committed to the low carbon economy and the world-leading targets set out in the Climate Change (Scotland) Act 2009 provide certainty for businesses and communities to plan for the low carbon future. The Scottish Government is showing the way on renewable development and since May 2007 ministers have approved 29 large scale renewable energy projects contributing to a total installed and consented renewables capacity for Scotland of just under 7GW. The pace and momentum set by the Scottish Government continues with a further 26 large scale renewable energy projects applications currently under consideration. The Crown Estate’s recent announcement for the world’s first commercial scale leasing round for wave and tidal energy in the Pentland Firth and Orkney Waters has the potential to deliver as much as 1.2GW of marine energy off Scotland’s north coast, with significant associated economic benefits. The Scottish Government launched the £10 million Saltire Prize and has tripled funding for micro and community generation with £13.5 million available per year. In October 2009, we launched £2 million pathfinder Energy Saving Scotland Home Loans. We committed £15 million to a new Home Insulation Scheme targeting 100,000 homes in 10 local authority areas in 2009-10. As part of the Scottish Government’s recent budget, this will be increased in 2010-11 from £15 million to £25 million. The Climate Change (Scotland) Act 2009 places a duty on local authorities to establish council tax discount schemes for Scots who install energy efficient measures in their homes. The Scottish Government is spending almost £2.4 billion over three years on greener transport. Scottish ministers have pledged to plant 100 million trees by 2015 as part of The Climate Group States and Regions Alliance commitment to plant 1 billion trees to encourage governments, businesses and communities worldwide to plant a tree for each person on the planet. The 100 million trees would, over their lifetime, absorb around a year of Scotland’s current emissions.

Climate Change

Sarah Boyack (Edinburgh Central) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-30106 by Stewart Stevenson on 15 January 2010, what progress it has made in working together with the Government of the Maldives to communicate the urgency of global action to tackle climate change, as stated in the joint statement on climate change with the Government of the Maldives.

Stewart Stevenson: The First Minister met the Maldives President’s Envoy for Science and Technology in Edinburgh on 11 December 2009 and then met President Nasheed of the Maldives in Copenhagen on 15 December 2009 during the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) climate conference where they signed a Joint Statement and then addressed The Climate Group’s Climate Leaders Summit of over 60 state and regional government ministers.

Climate Change

Sarah Boyack (Edinburgh Central) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-30106 by Stewart Stevenson on 15 January 2010, what measures it has undertaken to develop and deepen the relationship between Scotland and the Maldives.

Stewart Stevenson: Co-operation on the partnership has made good progress and a further announcement will be made at the earliest suitable opportunity.

Climate Change

Sarah Boyack (Edinburgh Central) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-30104 by Stewart Stevenson on 15 January 2010, what arrangements have been made for the First Minister to visit the Maldives.

Stewart Stevenson: As set out in the answer to question S3W-30104, no arrangements have been made.

Fuel Poverty

Jim Tolson (Dunfermline West) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive how many households were considered to be in fuel poverty in each of the last five years, broken down by local authority area.

Alex Neil: The available figures, for fuel poverty, by local authority - from the Scottish House Condition Survey - are shown in the table below.

  The Scottish House Condition Survey (SHCS) provides the official measure of fuel poverty for Scotland. As the SHCS is a survey the data in the table are estimates rather than precise figures. The Survey covers just over 3,000 households every year. The sample is too small to provide robust estimates of fuel poverty at local authority level on an annual basis. So we combine three years data to provide local authority data.

  The Estimated Number of Households in Fuel Poverty 2003-04 to 2006 to 2005-06 to 2008: SHCS Weighted Data

  

 Local Authority Area byHouseholds in Fuel Poverty
 2003-06
 2004-07
 2005-08


 Aberdeen City
 17,000
 18,000
 21,000


 Aberdeenshire
 24,000
 30,000
 34,000


 Angus
 9,000
 13,000
 16,000


 Argyll and Bute
 14,000
 16,000
 14,000


 Clackmannanshire
 3,000
 3,000
 3,000


 Dumfries and Galloway
 17,000
 21,000
 25,000


 Dundee City
 8,000
 10,000
 13,000


 East Ayrshire
 10,000
 11,000
 11,000


 East Dunbartonshire
 7,000
 8,000
 9,000


 East Lothian
 7,000
 9,000
 9,000


 East Renfrewshire
 7,000
 8,000
 9,000


 City of Edinburgh
 32,000
 41,000
 44,000


 Eilean Siar
 6,000
 6,000
 7,000


 Falkirk
 10,000
 13,000
 15,000


 Fife
 31,000
 37,000
 45,000


 Glasgow City
 51,000
 55,000
 62,000


 Highland
 29,000
 32,000
 32,000


 Inverclyde
 8,000
 8,000
 9,000


 Midlothian
 6,000
 7,000
 7,000


 Moray
 10,000
 11,000
 12,000


 North Ayrshire
 13,000
 15,000
 14,000


 North Lanarkshire
 18,000
 26,000
 32,000


 Orkney Islands
 3,000
 3,000
 4,000


 Perth and Kinross
 17,000
 20,000
 20,000


 Renfrewshire
 12,000
 14,000
 17,000


 Scottish Borders
 11,000
 14,000
 16,000


 Shetland Islands
 3,000
 3,000
 3,000


 South Ayrshire
 12,000
 13,000
 14,000


 South Lanarkshire
 24,000
 29,000
 39,000


 Stirling
 7,000
 7,000
 8,000


 West Dunbartonshire
 7,000
 8,000
 8,000


 West Lothian
 8,000
 10,000
 12,000


 Scotland
 439,000
 517,000
 583,000

Health

Margaret Mitchell (Central Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-30597 by Nicola Sturgeon on 25 January 2010, whether it will provide a breakdown into specific disciplines of the sums paid in negligence claims in each NHS board area.

Nicola Sturgeon: Detailed information on breakdown by discipline is not available prior to the 2006-07 financial year. The following tables detail the five disciplines in each of the three financial years ending in 2008-09 which have attracted the largest medical negligence payments in total. It is not possible to provide greater detail by NHS board as to do so could lead to the identification of individual cases.

  

 Discipline
 2006-07 (£)


 Obstetrics and Gynaecology
 15,287,192


 General Medicine
 1,379,688


 General Surgery
 563,037


 Accident and Emergency
 471,341


 Ophthalmology
 417,407


 Remaining Disciplines
 3,315,911



  

 Discipline
 2007-08 (£)


 Obstetrics and Gynaecology
 5,566,688


 General Surgery
 1,500,887


 General Medicine
 942,795


 Orthopaedics
 387,339


 Accident and Emergency
 187,502


 Remaining Disciplines
 5,929,433



  

 Discipline
 2008-09 (£)


 Obstetrics and Gynaecology
 13,726,531


 Dietetics
 4,115,055


 General Surgery
 2,254,602


 Orthopaedics
 825,532


 General Medicine
 511,573


 Remaining Disciplines
 4,574,454

Influenza

Anne McLaughlin (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, given that the influenza A (H1N1) pandemic is now receding, how it plans to learn from its experience of responding to this pandemic in order to inform future pandemic flu planning.

Nicola Sturgeon: It is vital that we identify the lessons learned during our response to the H1N1 pandemic. This was a significant health event which placed considerable and sustained pressure on our health services, it is therefore essential that we learn all we can from this experience so that changes and improvements can be made, where necessary.

  Throughout this pandemic, the response has been taken forward on a four nations basis which has recognised that this has been a UK-wide, and indeed global, emergency. I am therefore pleased to announce that an independently chaired review of the UK response to the H1N1 pandemic has been established.

  This review will be chaired by Dame Deirdre Hine and will be led by the Cabinet Office, with the full co-operation of all the four nations’ governments/assemblies. It has been jointly commissioned, and the chair appointed, by all four UK Health Ministers.

  As part of normal procedure following a major emergency response, the review will consider the effectiveness of the UK response to the 2009 pandemic and make recommendations to inform planning for any future pandemic.

  The chair will start as soon as possible. In order that the review can inform future pandemic planning and to ensure that its findings are placed in the public domain as soon as possible, ministers have asked that the review completes its work in time to publish a report before summer recess in the four administrations.

  I would like to take this opportunity to once again place on record my thanks to all those who have been involved in the response to this pandemic. In particular, those working in our health services, whose dedication and commitment have been outstanding throughout.

Justice

George Foulkes (Lothians) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the Cabinet Secretary for Justice plans to review his decision regarding the release of Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed Al Megrahi.

Kenny MacAskill: No.

Justice

Tom McCabe (Hamilton South) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive to what extent officials at the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority are allowed to use their discretion in considering cases involving historical abuse.

Kenny MacAskill: The terms of the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme are governed by the Criminal Injuries Compensation Act 1995. Changes to the Scheme are matters for the UK Government. The Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority is the cross border public authority that administers the Scheme throughout Great Britain on behalf of the Ministry of Justice, and its case officers can exercise discretion within the terms of the scheme.

Maritime Issues

Claire Baker (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has submitted a response to the consultation on the draft Merchant Shipping (Ship-to-Ship Transfer) Regulations 2010 and, if so, whether it will publish its response.

Richard Lochhead: I have written to the UK Government, supporting proposals by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency to make regulations covering the ship-to-ship transfer of oil cargoes within the United Kingdom’s internal waters and territorial seas. At the same time I made clear my view that Scottish ministers should be responsible for oil transfer in Scottish waters.

  Separately, my officials have submitted a detailed response to the Maritime and Coastguard Agency.

  Copies of both letters have been placed in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib. numbers 50544 and 50545).

Recycling

Gil Paterson (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what it is doing to encourage businesses to recycle.

Richard Lochhead: Scottish Government funds the Zero Waste Scotland delivery programme to provide a one-stop-shop to businesses, organisations and individuals seeking advice and support on reducing waste, recycling and resource efficiency.

Renewable Energy

Liam McArthur (Orkney) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-16666 by Jim Mather on 22 October 2008, whether a consultation into possible changes to the accreditation standards for installers of microgeneration equipment has been undertaken and, if so, what the result was.

Jim Mather: There has been no formal Scottish consultation into possible changes to the accreditation standards for installers of microgeneration equipment. The industry-led group proposing the changes represents the views of many Scottish installers and they have ensured their members are kept up to date with developments.

  The Scottish Government recently received proposals from the group and we are currently considering these. We are committed to reach a solution that will satisfy microgeneration installers but not exclude Scottish consumers from forthcoming UK-wide clean energy cash back schemes.

Renewable Energy

Liam McArthur (Orkney) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive how many and what percentage of domestic properties have microgeneration technologies installed.

Jim Mather: The Scottish Government gathers data on the number of domestic installations supported by Energy Saving Scotland home renewables grants and home loans. These figures in total are as follows:

  Number of Installations Supported

  

 Programme
 


 Home renewables grants
 4,619


 Home loans
 81



  Outwith these schemes, information on domestic microgeneration installations is not held centrally.

Renewable Energy

Liam McArthur (Orkney) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive how many and what percentage of non-domestic buildings are estimated to have microgeneration technologies installed.

Jim Mather: The Scottish Government gathers data on the number of non-domestic installations supported by Energy Saving Scotland small business loans and the Community and Renewable Energy Scheme (CARES). These figures in total are as follows:

  Number of Installations Supported

  

 Programme
 


 Small business loans
 46


 CARES
 1,001



  Outwith these schemes, information on non-domestic microgeneration installations is not held centrally.

Renewable Energy

Liam McArthur (Orkney) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive how many microgeneration technology installations have been supported financially in each of the last five years, broken down by local authority area.

Jim Mather: Domestic installations supported by Energy Saving Scotland home renewables grants (formerly part of Scottish Community and Householder Renewables Initiative) and home loans:

  

 
 2005-06
 2006-07
 2007-08
 2008-09
 2009-10


 Aberdeen City
 6
 16
 2
 4
 6


 Aberdeenshire
 31
 122
 115
 145
 158


 Angus
 13
 55
 31
 29
 32


 Argyll and Bute
 15
 52
 45
 61
 57


 Clackmannanshire
 1
 5
 4
 7
 8


 Comhairle nan Eilean Siar
 7
 9
 13
 50
 42


 Dumfries and Galloway
 24
 68
 65
 58
 54


 Dundee City
 2
 5
 5
 3
 6


 East Ayrshire
 10
 15
 19
 15
 16


 East Dunbartonshire
 0
 6
 9
 12
 4


 East Lothian
 5
 9
 20
 21
 22


 East Renfrewshire
 3
 8
 7
 4
 8


 City of Edinburgh
 13
 32
 28
 28
 38


 Falkirk 
 2
 11
 4
 3
 8


 Fife
 17
 78
 67
 51
 50


 Glasgow City
 1
 11
 8
 2
 14


 Highland
 47
 181
 142
 170
 166


 Inverclyde
 0
 4
 3
 4
 4


 Midlothian
 4
 8
 9
 7
 9


 Moray
 24
 23
 22
 45
 36


 North Ayrshire
 4
 30
 28
 22
 16


 North Lanarkshire
 1
 8
 5
 8
 3


 Orkney
 17
 31
 52
 31
 47


 Perth and Kinross
 41
 97
 67
 88
 94


 Renfrewshire
 0
 4
 2
 9
 10


 Scottish Borders
 20
 56
 62
 55
 60


 Shetland
 25
 36
 55
 38
 31


 South Ayrshire
 2
 18
 43
 20
 23


 South Lanarkshire
 12
 32
 23
 25
 30


 Stirling
 12
 35
 21
 33
 34


 West Dunbartonshire
 1
 2
 3
 5
 1


 West Lothian 
 4
 12
 20
 21
 16


 Total
 364
 1,079
 999
 1,074
 1,103



  SME Installations Supported by Energy Saving Scotland SME Loans (formerly Loan Action Scotland)

  

 
 2005-06
 2006-07
 2007-08
 2008-09
 2009-10


 Aberdeen City
 
 1
 
 
 2


 Aberdeenshire
 
 
 2
 1
 1


 Angus
 
 1
 
 
 


 Argyll and Bute
 
 
 
 
 


 Clackmannanshire
 
 
 
 
 


 Comhairle nan Eilean Siar
 
 
 
 1
 


 Dumfries and Galloway
 1
 
 
 2
 


 Dundee City
 
 
 
 1
 1


 East Ayrshire
 
 
 
 1
 1


 East Dunbartonshire
 
 
 
 
 


 East Lothian
 
 
 
 
 1


 East Renfrewshire
 
 
 
 1
 


 City of Edinburgh
 
 
 
 1
 


 Falkirk 
 
 
 
 
 1


 Fife
 
 
 
 
 


 Glasgow City
 
 
 
 
 


 Highland
 1
 
 1
 2
 3


 Inverclyde
 
 
 
 1
 


 Midlothian
 
 
 1
 
 1


 Moray
 
 
 
 
 


 North Ayrshire
 
 
 1
 
 1


 North Lanarkshire
 
 
 1
 
 


 Orkney
 
 
 
 
 1


 Perth and Kinross
 
 
 1
 
 1


 Renfrewshire
 
 
 
 1
 


 Scottish Borders
 
 
 
 1
 1


 Shetland
 
 
 
 
 


 South Ayrshire
 
 
 
 
 


 South Lanarkshire
 
 
 1
 1
 1


 Stirling
 
 
 
 2
 


 West Dunbartonshire
 
 
 
 
 


 West Lothian 
 
 
 
 1
 1


 Total
 2
 2
 8
 17
 17



  Community Installations Supported by Community and Renewable Energy Scheme (Formerly Part of Scottish Community and Householder Renewables Initiative) from 2003 to Present

  

 Aberdeen City
 9


 Aberdeenshire
 26


 Angus
 15


 Argyll and Bute
 41


 Clackmannanshire
 6


 Comhairle nan Eilean Siar
 46


 Dumfries and Galloway
 26


 Dundee City
 12


 East Ayrshire
 4


 East Dunbartonshire
 1


 East Lothian
 7


 East Renfrewshire
 2


 Edinburgh City
 16


 Falkirk
 4


 Fife
 19


 Glasgow City
 20


 Highland
 122


 Inverclyde
 1


 Midlothian
 7


 Moray
 18


 North Ayrshire
 7


 North Lanarkshire
 6


 Orkney
 44


 Perth and Kinross
 14


 Renfrewshire
 3


 Scottish Borders
 15


 Shetland
 40


 South Ayrshire
 2


 South Lanarkshire
 9


 Stirling
 7


 West Dunbartonshire
 0


 West Lothian
 3


 Total
 552



  The data on community installations is not held in the format requested i.e. broken down by year. It is likely to be cost prohibitive to obtain this.

Renewable Energy

Liam McArthur (Orkney) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive how much financial support was provided to microgeneration technology installations in each of the last five years, broken down by local authority area.

Jim Mather: Domestic installations supported by Energy Saving Scotland home renewables grants (formerly part of Scottish Community and Householder Renewables Initiative) and home loans:

  

 
 2005-06
 2006-07
 2007-08
 2008-09
 2009-10


 Aberdeen City
 6,156
 25,719
 3,257
 9,688
 19,540


 Aberdeenshire
 72,683
 289,846
 321,773
 438,468
 447,243


 Angus
 34,316
 119,695
 60,236
 88,026
 88,358


 Argyll and Bute
 38,841
 153,451
 123,829
 176,365
 172,201


 Clackmannanshire
 2,802
 8,975
 13,441
 15,479
 20,236


 Comhairle nan Eilean Siar
 20,335
 29,411
 42,520
 169,371
 128,885


 Dumfries and Galloway
 49,484
 181,090
 190,938
 162,989
 152,494


 Dundee City
 1,758
 5,005
 6,499
 4,568
 16,109


 East Ayrshire
 27,558
 36,534
 48,091
 34,395
 45,856


 East Dunbartonshire
 0
 18,238
 27,735
 22,265
 12,856


 East Lothian
 10,592
 13,723
 41,836
 57,469
 53,724


 East Renfrewshire
 2,698
 13,026
 14,659
 10,661
 25,420


 City of Edinburgh
 24,869
 41,221
 49,784
 44,717
 75,649


 Falkirk 
 3,276
 16,423
 4,677
 6,668
 17,769


 Fife
 41,426
 147,534
 153,656
 102,405
 133,409


 Glasgow City
 1,102
 27,471
 23,481
 3,162
 42,799


 Highland
 120,443
 461,043
 358,246
 438,225
 440,295


 Inverclyde
 0
 5,615
 4,527
 13,052
 10,213


 Midlothian
 11,455
 15,762
 14,544
 9,523
 19,769


 Moray
 42,641
 40,919
 47,086
 117,442
 95,699


 North Ayrshire
 4,616
 56,430
 65,580
 68,601
 46,881


 North Lanarkshire
 3,222
 11,160
 11,204
 20,587
 9,570


 Orkney
 43,980
 7,215
 168,042
 104,961
 140,209


 Perth and Kinross
 85,589
 209,903
 153,553
 227,652
 258,466


 Renfrewshire
 0
 8,757
 3,270
 25,500
 30,684


 Scottish Borders
 55,501
 135,861
 165,466
 158,901
 197,100


 Shetland
 30,913
 64,988
 95,087
 83,059
 80,159


 South Ayrshire
 4,690
 34,874
 82,456
 55,501
 68,090


 South Lanarkshire
 34,028
 76,466
 64,095
 73,846
 88,850


 Stirling
 25,444
 79,48
 43,968
 87,327
 101,248


 West Dunbartonshire
 4,000
 1,546
 8,395
 12,574
 4,000


 West Lothian 
 12,050
 15,579
 37,813
 52,576
 49,224


 Total
 816,483
 2,432,980
 2,449,761
 2,896,040
 3,093,020



  SME Installations Supported by Energy Saving Scotland SME Loans (formerly Loan Action Scotland)

  

 
 2005-06
 2006-07
 2007-08
 2008-09
 2009-10


 Aberdeen City
 
 8,735
 
 
 109,752


 Aberdeenshire
 
 
 33,422
 7,190
 26,000


 Angus
 
 10,000
 
 
 


 Argyll and Bute
 
 
 
 
 


 Clackmannanshire
 
 
 
 
 


 Comhairle nan Eilean Siar
 
 
 
 7,910
 


 Dumfries and Galloway
 10,600
 
 
 116,754
 


 Dundee City
 
 
 
 8,425
 100,000


 East Ayrshire
 
 
 
 22,000
 9,449


 East Dunbartonshire
 
 
 
 
 


 East Lothian
 
 
 
 
 21,709


 East Renfrewshire
 
 
 
 22,375
 


 City of Edinburgh
 
 
 
 18,465
 


 Falkirk 
 
 
 
 
 15,950


 Fife
 
 
 
 
 


 Glasgow City
 
 
 
 
 


 Highland
 8,495
 
 50,000
 17,463
 128,191


 Inverclyde
 
 
 
 9,250
 


 Midlothian
 
 
 5,260
 
 100,000


 Moray
 
 
 
 
 


 North Ayrshire
 
 
 9,588
 
 36,715


 North Lanarkshire
 
 
 49,560
 
 


 Orkney
 
 
 
 
 14,000


 Perth and Kinross
 
 
 25,903 
 
 7,351


 Renfrewshire
 
 
 
 7,240
 


 Scottish Borders
 
 
 
 17,625
 46,702


 Shetland
 
 
 
 
 


 South Ayrshire
 
 
 
 
 


 South Lanarkshire
 
 
 49,031
 56,925
 6,500


 Stirling
 
 
 
 86,342
 


 West Dunbartonshire
 
 
 
 
 


 West Lothian 
 
 
 
 14,850
 32,257


 Total
 19,095
 18,735
 222,764
 412,814
 654,576



  Community Installations Supported by Community and Renewable Energy Scheme (formerly part of Scottish Community and Householder Renewables Initiative) from 2003 to Present

  

 Aberdeen City
 282,603


 Aberdeenshire
 939,054


 Angus
 313,634


 Argyll and Bute
 1,442,735


 Clackmannanshire
 51,165


 Comhairle nan Eilean Siar
 1,722,117


 Dumfries and Galloway
 569,844


 Dundee City
 457,443


 East Ayrshire
 78,873


 East Dunbartonshire
 7,305


 East Lothian
 136,753


 East Renfrewshire
 42,536


 Edinburgh City
 512,482


 Falkirk
 65,879


 Fife
 391,804


 Glasgow City
 583,842


 Highland
 2,842,389


 Inverclyde
 37,500


 Midlothian
 487,353


 Moray
 393,733


 North Ayrshire
 117,923


 North Lanarkshire
 387,604


 Orkney
 1,161,546


 Perth and Kinross
 384,580


 Renfrewshire
 28,511


 Scottish Borders
 320,778


 Shetland
 1,172,958


 South Ayrshire
 43,779


 South Lanarkshire
 269,944


 Stirling
 242,744


 West Dunbartonshire
 0


 West Lothian
 153,171


 Total
 15,642,593



  The data on community installations is not held in the format requested i.e. broken down by year. It is likely to be cost prohibitive to obtain this.

Teachers

Hugh O'Donnell (Central Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive how it is supporting language teaching for primary school teachers.

Michael Russell: The Scottish Government is supporting language teaching in both primary and secondary schools through a variety of means, including annual funding to Learning and Teaching Scotland, the Scottish Centre for Information on Language Teaching and British Council Scotland to help teachers become better equipped to deliver the expectations for language teaching and international education as set out in Curriculum for Excellence. This support involves promoting and sharing examples of good practice, and, where appropriate, refreshing teachers’ own language skills in order to improve teachers’ confidence and competence in teaching modern languages.

  This work also supports teachers in their responsibility to engage in continuous professional development, and supporting local authorities in ensuring that an appropriate range of opportunities for professional development are available to teachers.

Wildlife Crime

Elaine Murray (Dumfries) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking to tackle wildlife crime.

Roseanna Cunningham: In April 2008 HM Inspectorate of Constabulary for Scotland and the Inspectorate of Prosecution in Scotland published a report of their thematic review into wildlife crime arrangements.

  The recommendations of that report - Natural Justice - focussed on partnership working and we have followed those through by strengthening and re-structuring the Partnership for Action Against Wildlife Crime to improve its effectiveness. We have also established a fund aimed at supporting innovations in combating wildlife crime as well as taking action to reduce the single farm payments made to five claimants in cases connected with poisoned birds.

  I am also pleased to bring to your attention that the Crown Office recently appointed Alex Prentice QC to act as Crown Council for Wildlife Crime – a further show of commitment to the subject, following the establishment of a network of Specialist Wildlife Fiscals throughout Scotland.